James Dyson Award is now accepting entries

Dyson’s international design award, the James Dyson Award, is now accepting entries that will follow the brief “design something which solves a problem, big or small.” The winner of the competition doesn’t just gain international exposure but also $50,000 to develop the idea. Last year’s winner was a team from McMaster University who worked on a low-cost, early detection melanoma skin cancer device called The sKan. If you’re an young designer or engineer who’s still in school or just graduated and have an idea you want to pitch, you can read more about the contest after the jump.

About the Competition

The competition brief: design something that solves a problem. This problem may be a frustration we all face in daily life, or a global issue such as world hunger. The important thing is that the solution is an effective and well-thought through solution.

The prize: The international prize: $50,000 (and $8,500 for their university), $8,500 for two international runners-up and each national winner receives $3,000.

The process: Entries are judged first at the national level—before progressing to the international stage. A panel of Dyson engineers select an international shortlist of 20 entries. The Top 20 projects are then reviewed by Sir James Dyson, who selects the international winner.

The James Dyson Award runs in 27 countries and regions worldwide. These are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, UK, and USA.

The deadline: midnight GMT on 20 July 2018

How to enter: candidates enter through an online application via the James Dyson Award website.  

Entrants should concisely explain what their invention is, how it works, and their development process. The best entries are always realistic and sustainable, show iterative development, solve a real problem and tell a story.

Entrants should submit imagery to support their application. The best entrants should be able to show evidence of physical prototyping as well as sketches and CAD.

Eligibility criteria

Entrants must be, or have been within the last four years, enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or graduate engineering or design program at a university in a country or region chosen to participate in the James Dyson Award.

In the case of team entries, all members of the team must be, or have been within the last four years, enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or graduate program at a university in a country or region chosen to participate in the James Dyson Award. One will need to be nominated and registered as the team member.